This is where your Mom gets a call from a “government representative” stating that she has been selected to receive one of the first insurance cards.

It gets worse. She then gives the scammer all her personal information such as bank account numbers, social security numbers etc.

The scam is based on the fact very few people know what Obamacare is all about. The senior population is especially confused. This is not surprising considering Nancy Pelosi’s statement made when she was Speaker of the House, ” we have to pass it to see what’s in it.”

Meanwhile this scam is on and there is a strong possibility your aging parents could become victims. That won’t happen if you stop it in it’s tracks.

Here’s a tip we use at our house to avoid any smooth, slick and dangerous scammers out to get my aging parents’ personal info.

Give your aging parent a written script to keep near the phone. If anyone suspicious calls, have her read the statement. It can be something like this.

“I don’t buy or respond to any phone offers or calls. Give me your number so my son can call you back to verify.”

If it’s legitimate they will give a legitimate number. If not, they’ll argue or try to change the subject.

How to Spot and Prevent Senior Financial FraudHuffington PostAnd, of course, there’s the ongoing problem of identity theft, Medicare fraud, door-to-door scams, credit card theft and Internet and email scams. The best way to spot a scam is to help you …

Almost 70 years after the battle of Iwo Jima, three of the surviving veterans are returning to the island for the first time. Their trips have been made possible because of contributions from Daughters of World War II and American Airlines.

What struck me was the memory of Bill Schott, who was only 18 when he fought in the famous battle. He vividly remembers laying in a foxhole and seeing the American Flag being raised on Mount Suribachi, although he can’t remember very many other details. That might be as well since it was such a bloody violent battle.

It is very important to write down the memories of our World War II veterans while we still have them. This generation is dying out and within a few years all opportunities will be lost.

That is critical for our family histories as well.
I was talking with my cousin the other day and she asked me if I knew how our grandparents met. I didn’t.

Unless my Mother knows, we will not be able to perhaps ever find out. That is just one small example of what we are losing if we don’t take the time to write it down not only for ourselves, but for the next generation.

World War II re-shaped our world. We need to pay special attention to all our veterans, but particularly those from a war fought seventy years ago.

We were shocked to hear about the death of 87-year- old Glenwood Gardens resident Lorraine Bayless, of Bakersfield, California. Miss Lorraine died while a nurse had called 911. The nurse would not administer CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

LTjg Ann Bernatitus, (NC), USN. Albert Murray, painter of numerous admirals and dignitaries, made this portrait of her at the Corcoran Gallery here in Washington in 1942. Bernatitus was stationed at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and several times she took the trolley or bus from Bethesda to the Corcoran to sit for Murray. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

During the agonizing crucial minutes the 911 operator, Tracey Halvorson, begged the nurse to give Miss Lorraine CPR or to at least find someone else who would.

We have learned it is not the policy of the Glenwood Gardens’ independent living community to administer CPR in emergencies. Those residents of their nearby assisted living and skilled nursing facilities can receive CPR, however.

Granted, the facility clearly states CPR help is not included in the contract residents must sign before moving in. Everyone is supposed to understand that because it is all in writing.

Somehow 911 Operator Halvorson had not been given the memo and didn’t understand that. Frankly, I don’t understand it either.

This story is very different from the many stories of people who have been saved right off sidewalks because someone knew CPR and cared enough to administer it.

A few years ago, I attended church with a man whose life was in fact saved in a grocery store when he collapsed from a heart attack. CPR was given to him by a good Samaritan stranger and he lived to tell the tale.

That was a far cry from a situation many years ago, when my family was going out to eat on a Sunday afternoon when I was nine. We arrived at a cafeteria in Nashville to find total chaos.

A man had just died while eating with his family. I saw his body on the floor surrounded by his teen aged daughters who were crying uncontrollably.

I’ll never forget it and I can still describe the tiniest detail of the scene including what one of the girls was wearing.

My parents explained to me the cafeteria didn’t have oxygen for the man. Maybe they could have saved him. We’ll never know.

Things have improved a lot since that October Sunday in 1965, or have they?

I was particularly taken back by the nurse’s attitude during the call concerning Miss Lorraine. She spent a lot of time explaining why she couldn’t help, and why she couldn’t get anyone else to help. The clock was ticking-fast.

Our advice is to read the fine print very carefully before you sign for any facility. Know what the nurses do and don’t do. Think long and hard before you incorporate the do not resuscitate clause. Keep in mind some facilities simply don’t provide CPR no matter how much a 911 Operator begs them to. Their reasoning seems to be CPR is dangerous to give to an elderly person.

But what about the other choice of not giving CPR? Isn’t that also dangerous?

If you aren’t satisfied with the policy of a facility, try out the next one in the phone book. There are plenty of them around.

“Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die,” Aso is being quoted as saying.

He can speak for himself, but he is not speaking for me.

Our question is what about the seniors who don’t want to die?

Japan is an aging country with about 25 per cent of its population over the age of 60. It is estimated that Japanese seniors will increase by 40 per cent by the year 2063.

Aso has also renamed the elderly who can not feed themselves as “tube people”.

It is not surprising the finance minister’s comments are causing controversy not only in Japan but all over the world. It is further stated he has angered many Japanese doctors after stating “they lacked common sense,” as quoted by UK’s The Guardian.

I think these statements are very frightening. I believe in the sacredness of life at any age. I believe one of the paramount ways nations as well as families will be judged is based on how their elderly are cared for.

I certainly take offense at the term “tube people.”

That being said, I do believe in working out a living will for yourself and for your aging parents to let you know what they want for their living wills. Those are decisions made on an individual level.

If these comments are not disturbing enough, Aso is further quoted,

“I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being paid for by the government. The problem won’t be solved unless you let them hurry up and die.”

This quote is also recorded by The Guardian.

According to The Guardian that probably won’t be a problem for Aso since he is a reported to be a wealthy man who most likely will be able pay for his own private treatments.

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